BERKELEY, Calif. — Gophers head coach P.J. Fleck usually begins his postgame news conferences with an encompassing opening statement, win or a loss. But after Minnesota’s 27-14 defeat to California on Saturday, Fleck began with an open-ended question.
“Where do you want me to begin?” he said.
In each game, Fleck uses a thick black pen to write down coaching points in a yellow notebook. He had the scribble-covered pages with him at the table inside Memorial Stadium in the wee hours Saturday, but he spoke extemporaneously for a few minutes about a slew of self-inflicted issues that resulted in Minnesota ending nonconference play at 2-1.
Minnesota Golden Gophers quarterback Drake Lindsey (5) throws a pass against the California Golden Bears in the first quarter of an NCAA college football game in Berkeley, Calif., on Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group via AP)
Losing the turnover margin 2-0 was a big reason for the Gophers’ loss; the second, Koi Perich’s muffed punt, led directly to a Cal touchdown that turned a three-point divot a 10-point crater, 24-14, midway through the fourth quarter.
“It’s not Koi’s fault, right? It’s my fault,” Fleck said. “But it’s our team’s responsibility to win football games, not Koi’s, not (quarterback Drake Lindsey’s and not linebacker Maverick Baranowski’s). We’re a team and we didn’t do enough on special teams, offense and defense to win that football game in every area. That’s what it’s going to look like. Now, the great thing is it’s all correctable.”
That muffed punt wasn’t the only play Perich will want back. In the first quarter, his fair catch on a punt inside the five-yard line gave the Golden Bears better field position for its opening touchdown. On that ensuing TD, Perich was slow to cover Jacob de Jesus out of the backfield, and he caught an easy 3-yard scoring pass from Jaron-Keawe Sagapoluteleon.
In the second quarter, Perich caught a 19-yard out route to put Minnesota in better position to tie the game. But on a double-pass trick play, Perich felt pressure as he went to throw and ate a 9-yard loss. The Gophers punted two plays later.
Coming off a true freshman season that included all-Big Ten and All-America honors, Perich was ballyhooed for the impact he could make on offense on top of the work he did on defense and special teams in 2024. Knee-jerk comparisons to last year’s Heisman Trophy winner, Colorado’s Travis Hunter, might have saddled him with unrealistic expectations going into his sophomore season.
The Esko, Minn., native has yet to make a similar splash through three games this season and might be too eager to make an impact in all three phases of the game. It sometimes seems as if he’s looking to hit two home runs in each at-bat and losing focus in the process.
“All great players go through adversity,” Fleck said. “This is probably his first piece of adversity in the 15 months he’s been here.”
“Adversity strengthens you, if you use it properly,” Fleck added. “You swallow the pill of adversity, and you take accountability and responsibility for it. We all do. It’s going to make him better.”
The muffed punt might be the most glaring example of how the sophomore is trying to do too much because he didn’t follow the coaching standard of getting away from a bouncing ball.
Trailing 17-14, the Gophers’ defense forced Cal to punt from its 47-yard line with eight minutes left. The ball hopped inside the 20 and was rolling at the 8-yard line when Perich went to grab it but it bounced off his hands and right foot. Cal recovered and quickly scored a TD.
“Casual creates causalities,” Fleck said.
After the turnover, Perich put his helmet in his hands as fellow special-teams members tried to console him. Postgame, at least one member of the support staff patted him on the back as Perich slowly sipped a drink in the locker room as they quickly packed up for a long overnight trip back to Minneapolis.
Lindsey is one of Perich’s best friends on the team and wouldn’t put the loss solely on his shoulders.
“That’s my brother,” said Lindsey, who threw one touchdown pass and one interception. “(It’s) something that we’ve got to talk about and make sure everybody is aligned on. We can’t be casual all across the board. It started with me; we were casual (Saturday). I’ve got to be a better leader and get us in the right type of spots.”
Minnesota linebacker Maverick Baranowski (6) and defensive back Darius Green (12) converge on Cal quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele in the first half of the Gophers late game Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025, in Berkeley, Calif. (Gophers Athletics)
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